


I Could Be So Lucky

by Box15



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode
Genre: M/M, in which Naegi is a killer, it's also really sappy, so I apologize for that, this is rewrite of something a few years old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-21 00:39:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9523583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Box15/pseuds/Box15
Summary: Not being able to take it anymore, Naegi gives into despair and kills Kirigiri. [Originally written in 2014, this deserved a re-write.]





	

From the first second Monokuma came into our lives, I knew I had to get out of that High School. We all did. There was no way that we were going to spend the rest of our lives in one, single building. In the end, that's one of the only things everyone could agree on. 

From the outset, we realized that we had to have some solidarity, or we weren't going to get anywhere. So, we all pulled together, putting aside our differences in the pursuit of freedom. A group of teenagers, all with strong personalities and different backgrounds, working together. Determined to get out of this hopeless situation together. It was something of a spectacle. 

But as time went on and nothing changed, we became increasingly desperate. We wanted to see the outside world again, speak to different people, do different things. Yet all that happened was we confirmed there was no way out. Unless someone died, there was no way out. Even though we were such a close group, with this knowledge in mind, it was only a matter of time. It was a given that someone would crack and gave into the game. 

Leon Kuwata was arguably one of the most realistic members of our ragtag group. After all, we had talents like Heir, Gambler and Detective in our ranks. A Baseball player seemed so ordinary, but it was good in a way. To think that there were other normal people here, it helped keep me grounded in reality. And despite his fiery personality, he was a good, friendly person.

So of course, it would be him who would be the first to kill. And because of him, Maizono was gone. Of course, she too was attempting murder. But like Leon, she had provided a crutch for me to lean on. A friendly, familiar face in all this madness. We were just beginning to build up a strong friendship too. 

That first murder acted as a catalyst for the rest. It gave others the courage to try it for themselves, if you will. One after another, people tried and failed to escape by committing murder. We were dropping like flies with no way to stop it, and every trial became harder with fewer people to help. Things just kept getting worse for us. It seemed that the closer the survivors got, the more we couldn't trust each other. We were all on the brink of despair.

In the end, there were six people left. Six decent, friendly, hardworking people who had already been through so much. The chances of another murder were looking slim. But instead of being thankful, my weakness got the better of me. I couldn't fathom the idea of being here any longer. I had to get out.  
\---  
"Well, the culprit is Hagakure, obviously! Not only is his counterargument weak, but he's been in the background the entire time. Keeping himself from us, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. We'd never suspect it!" Asahina argued, her volume too loud for the amount of people in the room.

"I'm telling you; I didn't do it! Why would I ever want to kill Kirigiri, anyway? We hardly ever spoke, I have no reason to hate her!" Hagakure stammered back, the panic clear in his voice.

"Hey! Don't try and throw us off now! We all know it was you!" I cut in, putting on my assertive, 'I've got you now' voice.

"...I agree with Naegi. You're always trying to pin the blame on others and your idiotic, clueless grin means it always works. But that won't be the case today, you won't get away this time." Byakuya closed his eyes and smirked. "We've survived the other trials and we'll survive this one too." He spoke in a low, confident tone. He shot a glare at Monokuma. "Start the voting." He left no room for anyone to interject. 

I wasn't sure if time sped up or slowed down for me, but it was all over in a flash. We had all voted for Hagakure, however unlikely it seemed. I was trying hard not to cry, but I could feel my resolve weakening with every passing second. 

"Awwww, I'm so sorry to disappoint. But it was actually Naegi this time! Well, that's too bad. But it's not my fault you bastards were all born stupid!" Monokuma chirped, his excitement threatening to boil over.

Silence fell across the room. "W-what?" Fukawa stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I always knew you were too good to be true!" She accused, pointing hard at me. Aoi had her hand over her mouth, trying to hold in a sob, but tears were already flowing freely. She was shaking like a leaf. 

They'd got it wrong and now they'd have to pay with their lives for that mistake. I so desperately wanted to say something, anything, to try and apologize for what I'd done. After all, there was no way I'd ever be able to justify myself to my victims. 

Victims... 

"Your audacity knows no bounds. But I suppose that's the way of it with commoners. They never know their place." Byakuya sighed. He sounded calm, but he was sweating. Hard. He knew what was coming. "You still chose to take such a risk, even after you'd been accused twice before. I suppose you’re third time lucky.” He let out a weak laugh before looking away, crestfallen. "You always said we'd get out of here together. I never took you for a liar." He sounded... disappointed. His voice was barely above a whisper.

Fukawa tapped the tips of her index fingers together, staring intently at them. "Vanilla guys never get the plot twists. This goes against everything that I know." She hissed, as if I'd just criticized her story. She snapped up, her gaze piercing. "It's because of you that I won't be with my White Knight!" 

Tears boiled over. I couldn't bare hearing what I was taking from my beloved friends.

"But... I always thought that you and Kirigiri were such good friends! It was getting to the point where you could've been more" She couldn't bring herself to look at me. "How could you do that to her?" Another sob followed. "How could you do that to us?" Her voice was quiet now, her mind too filled with despair to raise it any louder.

"I-I Told you I didn't do it!" Hagakure cut in, crying louder than anyone else. "But you didn't listen to me! You never listened to me! And now we're all going to die!"

Well, there it was. The D word has been dropped.

"Why's everyone so glum? There's celebration in order!" Monokuma cut in, singing over the crying and low atmosphere. "Congratulations, Naegi!" Honestly, I never thought it would be you. But it goes to show that even disgustingly plain people like you can be killers when they put their mind to it!" He laughed grossly, enjoying our shock.

Springing up from his seat, he twirled around on the spot before pointing towards of the center of the room. "Let's not delay this treat any longer! It's time to pick the fruits of your labour and enjoy a truly spectacular execution!"

My mind drew a blank. It was happening. I knew this would happen for either me or them the moment I made the decision to kill Kirigiri. From the second that I decided that she was the person to kill, as without her the team would be weaker. Yet, I still wasn't prepared.

I didn't know what to do. I knew what was coming and that I only had a few seconds to say something but I just... Couldn't. All I could do was mouth a small 'I'm sorry'.

"One moment please, Monokuma." Byakuya silenced the bear as he walked over to me. Both his voice and his strides were filled with purpose. I tensed up, bracing myself for a slap, or even a punch. What I got, instead, was a hug. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his chest. For a such a lanky guy, his grip on me was surprisingly strong.

I couldn't fight it anymore. Tears fell from my eyes and onto his jacket. I had to concentrate hard to work out what he was saying to me.

"Naegi. Makoto, listen to me. It's okay." All pretenses were gone now, that stuck up attitude out the window. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but it's fine." His hands shifted up my back slightly. "Instead of letting us be picked off one by one, you're putting us out of our misery instead. I know murder is never acceptable, but our dreams are better laid to rest here. Having to face that despair gradually, after years of no change to our situation would be so much worse."

Byakuya was crying to now, but I was so focused on my own sorrows that I didn't realize how moving it was to see him cry.

"And... And even if you were just killing to escape, you're still not a bad person. It's thanks to you that we survived this long." I put my arms around him at this point. There was so much I wanted to say, not nearly enough being conveyed by this hug. All I could do was apologize, repeating a whispered mantra of "I'm sorry."

"Thanks to you, we had the hope to keep going. You managed to solve all those cases along with Kirigiri and keep us safe. It's even your fault that we're sharing this moment now." He choked up at the end. In that moment I would've taken his place a thousand times over.

"Uh, guys?" Monokuma cut in. I was made aware of the world around us once more. In all my tears, I'd forgotten everyone and everything else. Our sort-of-manly-goodbye-hug was effectively broken up.

"This isn't some Yaoi! Less soppy crap and more killing! You know what time it is!" Honestly, nothing seemed real anymore. His patience had run out, and the red button had been pushed. All of my still crying friends were dragged away from me. Byakuya was the last to go. Monokuma really knew how to push my buttons. 

For what would be the last time, I made my way over to the execution auditorium. Looking over towards the stage upon arrival, I could see my friends waiting for their end. They were tied up together, their backs facing each other. I tried to brace myself for what was coming next.

From out of the ground came a huge wheel of fortune. Each section featured a different and equally horrifying method of mass execution. Monokumas in their hundreds flooded the cardboard booking office. They were betting huge sums of money, trying to predict which method would be chosen. Whilst it seemed a pointless effect, it did the job of prolonging the inevitable. I could see them shaking.

The wheel spun, taking a long time to reach a decision. It clicked round, settling on a cutesy picture of some waves. Some of the Monokuma cheered, whilst others sank into despair. From the sky dropped four huge acrylic panes, forming a tank around them. A shower of black and white rubber ducks then rained down, making it clear what those waves meant. Adorned in a rubber ring, Monokuma began filling the tank using a pressurized hose. Others soon joined him to speed up the process. It was when the water started to reach their heads that I couldn't watch anymore. 

I turned away, my vision swimming through my tears. They were shouting, and out of the corner of my eye I could see struggling. It was too much for me. I will admit that much. The emotion, the sound, having to see... it. Overstimulated, everything became a frightening blur. Hyperventilating, I felt the need to curl up into a ball and melt into the floor. My head ached.

I gave up trying to fight it. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor, the light spray of water showering me. Darkness crept into my eyes.  
\---  
So, I did get out; and now that I am, I wish I wasn't. The sky is stained a blood red, the sun nowhere to be seen. The streets are filled with killer robots and strange, broken people. Nowhere is safe, and everyone is an enemy. But being a murderer, I can't pretend I'm any better. The world has a cold feel to it. Life inside Hope's Peak sucked, but at least I had my friends.  
\---  
I woke up to find myself lying in a bed in the school’s infirmary. Looking around, everything seemed a little too clean. My head was pounding and my eyes hurt. Monokuma was sat at the end of my bed. His little legs swung back and forth off the side of the bed. Noticing that I'd stirred, he turned to face me. "So, you're finally awake! After that almighty thud when you hit the ground, I thought you might never wake up! Imagine the despair when the world knows you sacrificed so much for nothing!" He chuckled, but I couldn't see the funny side. 

Sitting up, I watched as he pulled out a control panel from nowhere. It was a dull grey box, with one big red button it. He tossed it at me halfheartedly. "Pressing this button will open the front door! I know I could do it for you, but I didn't know if you wanted to stay here any longer or not. So, I thought I'd wait and give you the choice. It seems only right to be courteous to my winner~" 

I couldn't shake this thought as I made my way to the school entrance. My finger hovering over the button, I prepared myself to leave the school behind.  
\---  
But I understand now. I should want to stay. Being in a small place full of good and bad memories on my own is better than being outside in this hell.

Theoretically, I can now do anything. There is nothing to stop me from doing anything I wanted. No higher force to tell me no. Yet, I can't do anything. How am I ever supposed to get far enough away from this apocalypse without a mode of transport? Even if I found a working car, how would I ever drive it? I'm not old enough to know that yet. The same goes for boats, planes and trains. There's only so much books can teach you. That is, if I found one.

But never mind books, I'm more scrapped for food and water than I am for knowledge. Stores have long since been looted. As I walk around, I get the feeling that this disaster is nothing new. The more I ponder this, the more questions I have. I can't help but feel I'm missing something.

Anyway, even if I found some food, I'd feel guilty and end up leaving money on the counter. Even if it was just pocket change, since proper sums are no longer available. I try not to think about it, but I know that soon I'll run out resources unless I find help.

\---

So, I found help in the form of a strange man with white hair. He said his name was Servant. I can tell there's something not quite right about him, but he seems to know exactly what he's doing. When we met, he told me that he'd seen me on TV, inside the school. I know it was wrong to trust this person, but he seemed to like me well enough, so I stuck with him. It was better than being alone. When the subject of the murder came up, he seemed to grow quiet. So I decided not to mention it further.

Servant told me where to hide, saying that I couldn't go home with him if I wanted to live. I now spent my days looking for my own resources and fortifying my new home. Despite the fact that he would come by often with food and water, I didn't want to rely completely on him. I never questioned where this stuff came from.

We spoke often, having long conversations about how life was now, and what had happened to cause this. Slowly, the world started to make more sense. Though he was strange, we came to be good friends in time. It's the only comfort in this constant battle for life. Rarely, when he isn't around, someone else came to my shelter. Another man, with long black hair and piercing red eyes. He never said anything, often standing in the entrance for a few moments before leaving again. Even though he never did anything, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. I was defenseless in this new world, even if we both only human.

Told Servant about him, he said that the man was a friend and wasn't to be feared. He said to be tactful, and you'd be alright. Servant said that he was probably just looking for him. This provided me with more questions than it did answers. 

But it's not just the weird characters like him that keep me up at night. Currently, I'm living in squalor, relying on a near stranger for my survival. Outside, killer robots are get to me just as much as disease and hunger are. It can't get much worse than this. 

If only I had stayed with it a little longer, I wouldn't be in this mess. Yes, I'd still be trapped. But I could be with my friends, enjoying a cup of coffee, or a dip in the pool. Yes, we'd still be in a murder game. But that would be favourable to this situation. Even having to put up with Togami telling me how great he is would be better than this.

Thinking of Togami, I realized once again how much I missed him. Yes, he was a total ass. But I miss his confident presence. That's not to say I don't miss everyone else. I'd give anything to see Aoi's smile or hear Kirigiri's comforting voice. But after a hug like that, a moment like that, it's hard not to think of him fondly.

So as I lay on the dirty floor, frightened, alone and hungry, tears fall once again. If only I'd kept it together, and asked for help. We could've gotten through this. What would you say now, Togami? Seeing me here like this?

Damn it all, sometimes I'm as stupid as I am bland.


End file.
